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Hardrock 100 runner nearly struck by lightning on 14,048-foot Handies

By Daniel PettyThe Denver Post

Posted:
07/15/2014 06:42:10 PM MDT

Updated:
07/16/2014 05:46:37 PM MDT

Adam Campbell 3113 races near mile two before the crossing at Mineral Creek during the 100.5-mile Hardrock 100 Endurance Run on July 11, 2014, in the San Juan Mountains near Silverton, Colorado. (Daniel Petty, The Denver Post)

Even before runners set foot on the notoriously challenging Hardrock 100 course, they're warned in a mandatory briefing that the terrain they traverse is steep, high, remote and often exposed with no place for shelter — the kind difficult to reach in an emergency.

Canadian ultrarunner Adam Campbell had left the Grouse Gulch aid station — just past the halfway point of the 100.5-mile course — in third place Saturday as the sun set behind the San Juan Mountains, bound with his pacer, Aaron Heidt, toward the 14,048-foot Handies Peak.

"We looked over and the sky was this beautiful, vivid red color," Campbell said. "But you could see it was an angry sky, and you could see a storm rolling through."

Soon, it was dark, and scattered thunderstorms dropped chilling rain, and lightning flashed all around as they climbed ever higher. Campbell estimated they were about four or five rugged miles from the next aid station, Burrows Park, Mile 67.6 at 10,400 feet. They summited Handies, relieved they were at the Hardrock's highest point. Next move: Get to lower ground as fast as possible.

"Next thing we know, we hear this incredibly loud cracking sound and saw this vivid white light," Campbell recalled. "And we both found ourselves knocked to the ground. I heard my headlamp pop, and I heard Aaron say, 'I've been hit!' "

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They had not, in fact, been directly struck. Campbell said the area "smelled like electricity" and that Heidt could feel tingling, but beyond being terrified and panicked, they were physically fine. The headlamp on the top of Campbell's head went dark, and they told no one when they finally arrived at Burrows Park, fearing they might be pulled from the course. They sought no medical help.

"That system moved in fairly quickly," said Dale Garland, the Hardrock run director. "Runners should always be able to seek shelter, and they shouldn't feel like they have to run through a storm. Our cutoffs are designed to allow them to wait out a storm if they have to, and they should exercise prudence and decision-making when they think their life is in danger."

Campbell finished the run third in 25 hours, 56 minutes, 46 seconds.

"Whenever you have a report of an incident, I want to make sure we're doing everything we can within the spirit of our run to make it a safe event," Garland said. "Do we need to think about holding runners? Should we say no one goes anywhere?"

Monsoonal flow over the San Juans is common this time of year. But rescue options in that kind of weather are severely limited. It is impossible to deploy helicopters in an electrical storm.

"We have some folks strategically placed at Grouse Gulch that have the ability to reach a scene," said Leo Lloyd, the run's rescue and medical coordinator. "And we could send people up from Burrows Park. But we're looking at a six-mile section at 14,000 feet in lightning. We would have to really think about sending anyone up there."

Tsuyoshi Kaburaki, who placed sixth, was struck in the head with a falling rock on the Bear Creek trail this year, but otherwise there were no serious incidents, Lloyd said. No one has died in 21 runnings of the event.

"It is worth stressing that the runners are aware of this as an objective hazard when they're up high," Lloyd said. "You can mitigate some risks, but there's no way to eliminate them."

The sun sets over the Grouse Gulch aid station at mile 58.4 of the Hardrock 100 Endurance Run on July 11, 2014, in the San Juan Mountains, Colorado. The 100.5-mile run hits trails and mountain passes between Silverton, Telluride, Ouray and Lake City. (Daniel Petty, The Denver Post)

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